1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a structure for dissipating heat generated in a drive unit of a plasma display panel in a plasma display panel device.
The present application claims priority from Japanese Application No. 2000-182445, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cPDPxe2x80x9d) a display image is generated by applying a predetermined voltage between electrodes, disposed to intersect with each other, to produce electrical discharge between the electrodes in a discharge space formed between two glass substrates.
The electrodes of the PDP have a high voltage of several hundred volts applied to them. A drive unit developing the high voltage to drive the PDP generates high heat. For this reason, the PDP device needs a heat-dissipation structure for dissipating the heat generated in the drive unit into the atmosphere.
FIG. 8 is a lateral sectional view showing a PDP device having a conventional heat-dissipation structure as explained above.
In FIG. 8, a PDP 1 is secured on a chassis 2 made of metal such as aluminum by an adhesive tape 3. On the back face of the chassis 2 (the reverse of the face on which the PDP 1 is mounted), a circuit board 4 making up a drive circuit for driving the PDP 1 is installed and electrically connected to the PDP 1 through a flexible cable (not shown).
On the circuit board 4, a plurality of electronic components E1 and drive modules E2 which make up the drive circuit are mounted.
The PDP 1 and the circuit board 4 which are linked by the chassis 2 are housed in a casing made up of a side case C1, a rear case C2, a front panel FP for protecting the display surface of the PDP 1, and others.
In an upper portion of the rear case C2, an exhaust fan F is installed for exhausting air from the casing. Heat dissipation is performed such that the exhaust fan F is driven to dissipate the air inside the casing, which is heated by the heat generated from the electronic components E1 and drive modules E2 mounted on the circuit board 4, into the atmosphere.
In the conventional PDP device as explained above, however, the electronic components E1 and the drive modules E2 which generate heat are mounted on one face of the single circuit board 4, which results in a crowded arrangement of the electronic components E1 and the drive modules E2 on the circuit board 4 as illustrated in FIG. 9. Hence, the conventional PDP device has a problem in which a heat-dissipating path for creating an air flow for the heat dissipation produced by the exhaust fan F cannot be provided sufficiently between the electronic components E1 and between the drive modules E2.
The present invention has been made to solve the problem associated with heat dissipation in the conventional plasma display panel as described above.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a heat-dissipation structure capable of performing efficient heat dissipation in a plasma display panel device.
To attain the above object, a heat-dissipation structure of a plasma display panel device including a plasma display panel and a drive circuit for driving the plasma display panel, according to a first aspect of the present invention, has the feature of including a plurality of circuit boards and having electronic components, making up the drive circuit, mounted separately on the plurality of circuit boards.
With the heat-dissipation structure of the plasma display panel device of the first aspect, the electronic components making up the drive circuit for the plasma display panel are mounted separately on the plurality of individual circuit boards. For this reason, it is possible to increase each space between the adjacent electronic components as compared with the case where the electronic components are mounted on a single circuit board.
According to the first aspect, therefore, the heat dissipating path for creating an air flow in order to dissipate the heat, generated from the heat-generating electronic components, from the plasma display panel device into the atmosphere, can be provided sufficiently between the heat-generating electronic components, resulting in efficient heat dissipation.
This allows the elimination of the conventional need for installing an exhaust fan for dissipating heat. If exhaust fans are installed, it is possible to reduce the number of exhaust fans.
To attain the aforementioned object, the heat-dissipation structure of the plasma display panel according to a second aspect has, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the feature that an electronic component with the heat-generating property out of the electronic components making up the drive circuit is mounted on a required circuit board out of the plurality of circuit boards.
With this structure, it is possible to place an exhaust hole, an exhaust fan or the like above the required circuit board on which the electronic component with the heat-generating property is mounted for collective exhausting, which results in further efficiency in performing the heat dissipation.
To attain the aforementioned object, the heat-dissipation structure of the plasma display panel device according to a third aspect has, in addition to the configuration of the second aspect, the feature that the required circuit board is supported by a metal-made build-up frame which is thermally-conductively installed on a metal-made casing of the plasma display panel device and is in contact with at least part of the electronic components with the heat-generating property mounted on the required circuit board.
According to the heat dissipation structure of the plasma display panel device of the third aspect, in addition to the heat dissipation achieved by exhausting the heated air flowing between the electronic components with the heat-generating property mounted on the required circuit board, the heat generated from the electronic components, with the heat-generating property, in contact with the metal-made build-up frame is transferred through the build-up frame to the metal-made casing of the plasma display panel device and also dissipated from the metal-made casing, resulting in further efficiency in performing the heat dissipation.
To attain the aforementioned object, the heat-dissipation structure of the plasma display panel according to a fourth aspect has, in addition to the configuration of the third aspect, the feature that the electronic components having the heat-generating property are mounted separately on both faces of the required circuit board, and the electronic component mounted on one face of the required circuit board are in contact with the build-up frame.
With this structure, it is possible to further increase a width of the heat dissipating path between the electronic components having the heat-generating property. In addition, the heat generated by the electronic components mounted on the one face of the circuit board is passed through the build-up frame and dissipated from the metal-made casing of the plasma display panel device into the atmosphere, resulting in further efficiency in performing the heat dissipation.
To attain the aforementioned object, the heat-dissipation structure of the plasma display panel according to a fifth aspect has, in addition to the configuration of the third aspect, the feature that the electronic component mounted on the one face of the required circuit board and being in contact with the build-up frame is a heat-generating module.
With this structure, electronic components having the heat-generating property are designed in modules, and the heat generated by the heat-generating module significantly exhibiting heat-generating property is dissipated by means of transferring the heat to the metal-made casing of the plasma display panel device, as well as means of exhausting the heated air. This results in further efficiency in performing the heat dissipation.
To attain the aforementioned object, the heat-dissipation structure of the plasma display panel according to a sixth aspect has, in addition to the configuration of the second aspect, the feature that part of the electronic components with the heat-generating property out of the electronic components making up the drive circuit is mounted on the required circuit board out of the plurality of circuit boards, and anther electronic component with the heat-generating property is mounted on a circuit board out of the plurality of circuit boards other than the required circuit board while being in thermal-conductive contact with the metal-made casing of the plasma display panel device.
According to the heat-dissipation structure of the plasma display panel device of the sixth aspect, the heat generated by the another electronic components with the heat-generating property mounted on the circuit board other than the required circuit board is dissipated by means of transferring the heat to the metal-made casing of the plasma display panel device, as well as means of exhausting the heated air. This results in further efficiency in performing the heat dissipation.
Further, it is not required to mount the electronic components having the heat-generating property on both faces of the single circuit board in order to make thermal-conductive contact between part of the electronic components having the heat-generating property and the metal-made casing of the plasma display panel device. For this reason, it is possible to minimize an increase in depth dimension of the plasma display panel device due to the provision of the heat-dissipation structure.
To attain the aforementioned object, the heat-dissipation structure of the plasma display panel according to a seventh aspect has, in addition to the configuration of the sixth aspect, the feature that the another electronic component with the heat-generating property is thermal-conductively installed to the metal-made casing of the plasma display panel device and is in contact with a metal-made build-up frame supporting the required circuit board.
With this structure, the heat produced by the another electronic component with the heat-generating property is transferred through the metal-made build-up frame supporting the required circuit board to the metal-made casing of the plasma display device to be dissipated from the casing into the atmosphere.
To attain the aforementioned object, the heat-dissipation structure of the plasma display panel according to an eighth aspect has, in addition to the configuration of the sixth aspect, the feature that the another electronic components with the heat-generating property are a heat-generating module.
With this structure, the electronic components having the heat-generating property are designated in modules, and the heat produced by the resulting heat-generating module significantly exhibiting the heat-generating property is dissipated by means of transferring the heat to the metal-made casing of the plasma display panel device, as well as means of exhausting the heated air. This results in further efficiency in performing the heat dissipation.
To attain the aforementioned object, a heat-dissipation structure of a plasma display panel including a plasma display panel and a drive circuit for driving the plasma display panel according to a ninth aspect of the present invention has the feature that electronic components making up the drive circuit are mounted separately on both faces of a circuit board.
With the heat dissipation structure of the plasma display panel device of the ninth aspect, since the electronic components making up the drive circuit for the plasma display panel are mounted separately on both faces of the circuit board, it is possible to increase each space between the electronic components arranged thereon as compared with the case where the electronic components are mounted on one of the faces of the circuit board.
According to the ninth aspect, therefore, it is permitted that a heat-dissipating path for making air flow in order to dissipate the heat produced by the heat-generating electronic component from the plasma display panel device into the atmosphere, is provided sufficiently between the heat-generating electronic components, resulting in efficiency in performing the heat dissipation. Further, since there is no need for providing the circuit boards in plural in order to mount the electronic components separately, it is possible to reduce depth dimension of the plasma display panel device.
To attain the aforementioned object, the heat-dissipation structure of the plasma display panel according to a tenth aspect has, in addition to the configuration of the ninth aspect, the feature that the circuit board having both the faces on which the electrode components are separately mounted is supported by a metal-made build-up frame installed thermal-conductively to the metal-made casing of the plasma display panel device and being in contact with part of at least the electronic components with the heat-generating property out of the electronic components mounted on the circuit board.
According to the tenth aspect of the heat dissipation structure of the plasma display panel device, in addition to the heat dissipation achieved by exhausting the heated air flowing between the electronic components with the heat-generating property mounted on the circuit board, the heat generated by the electronic components with the heat-generating property which are in contact with the metal-made build-up frame, is transferred through the build-up frame to the metal-made casing of the plasma display panel device to be dissipated also from the metal-made casing, resulting in further efficiency in performing the heat dissipation.
To attain the aforementioned object, the heat-dissipation structure of the plasma display panel according to an eleventh aspect has, in addition to the configuration of the tenth aspect, the feature that the electronic component mounted on the circuit board while being in contact with the build-up frame is a heat-generating module.
With this structure, the electronic components having the heat-generating property are designed in modules, and the heat generated by the resulting heat-generating module significantly exhibiting the heat-generating property is dissipated by means of transferring the heat to the metal-made casing of the plasma display panel device, as well as means of exhausting the heated air. This results in further efficiency in performing the heat dissipation.